Microsoft's Surface demand is 'disappointing,' says analyst
Summary: If analysts are right, the reason Microsoft is being coy about Surface tablet sales is because they are more subdued than even Microsoft's own conservative predictions.
Why is Microsoft being so coy about producing numbers regarding how many Surface tablets have been sold since they hit the shelves? According to one analyst, it is because sales have been, "disappointing."
FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger made the comments, who, in a note to clients, went on to say that sales, have "underwhelmed expectations."
Given that Microsoft was only expecting to shift between 3-5 million Surface tablets this quarter in the first place, if Berger is right then even these prosaic expectations were too high.
In stark contrast to Microsoft's difficulty in shifting Surface tablets, Apple sold three million iPads in the first weekend alone following the release of the iPad mini and the iPad 4.
According to Bloomberg, other analysts are equally pessimistic regarding Surface sales, with Bob O’Donnell of IDC quoted as saying that: "You can hardly even find one, so even if you wanted to buy it, it would be difficult," and Wes Miller, of Directions on Microsoft saying that, "when Microsoft is stealthy about numbers, that usually means something."
I have two theories as to why Surface sales are falling short of expectations. The first is that at $599 for the tablet and they keyboard, Surface comes across as too expensive, especially compared to the $499 price tag for the iPad 4, or $329 for the iPad mini. The solution to this problem is simple: Microsoft should drop the price.
After all, if IHS iSuppli is right and the Surface is more profitable than the iPad then there's enough room for Microsoft to do this.
The other factor putting a damper on Surface is the negative press that Windows 8 has and continues to attract, especially the new user interface, which usability experts have slammed it, calling it "confusing," and "disappointing" for "both novice and power users."
It looks like Microsoft is having a hard time making the shift from the PC era of yesteryear into the post-PC era of today.
Image source: Microsoft.
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Talkback
I hope...
The problem with surface is that it is bardware that is trying to be an iPad while running an OS that represents something fundamentally different from an iPad: a hybrid of the PC and the iPad that actually works, IMHO.
I am most excited by the RT convertibles being released by ASUS, Dell and Samsung that blend traditional notebook ergonomics with a detachable tablet screen.
All said, though, I suspect it will take time before RT truly catches on. For one thing, there is a distinct lack of software avaliable as yet, and for another I don't think folks have quite awoken to the true delight and freedom that actual, no B.S. all day battery life affords the mobile user.
Battery life
iPad - 10-11 hours, faster processor, better display
Surface RT - 8-10 hours
I think iPad owners get the "true delight."
RT doesn't get 8-10 hrs
The Pro version is (alleged) to be half of that. So that is not a "true delight" at all.
'The problem with Surface is that it is BARDWARE'
The pundits protest too much, methinks. But wittily.
By indirections we find directions out, surely. But if after such twitter tempests comes great calm, then blow Ballmer, crack your cheeks!
(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
Totally irrelevant article
The rt is still not available at Futurshop, Amazon, Best Buy, Costco. Here in Canada, the only way to try one, is to buy one online trough the Microsoft online store.
The distribution of the rt is awfull. Yep I agree
Microsoft as failed in making this product accessible, Yep I agree
But "Microsoft's Surface demand is 'disappointing,' says analyst"... Is not something we can discuss considering the fact that only a minority of potentiel buyers have seen it, heard about it or tried it.
MS is doing it the very bad way and they need floor space is more store, all around the world. And these babys will sell like hot cakes.
The article interested me
The poor sales performance can't really be blamed on distribution. MS have slavishishly replicated every feature of Apple's distribution system, from the boutique shop-fronts to the online store to the App shops.
Apple have been selling huges numbers of iPads primarily through Apple stores and online shops, so the mediocre RT sales cannot be blamed on the outlets.
Bad
I own an iPad and a Playbook. The surface is in another league. The major league.
The major league of bad
You meant the major league of bad...
Well since I do actually own both
I agree somebody should use a product before calling it bad
No one has heard of it???
The simple fact is the RT does not offer any real advantages to take people away from well received iPads and Android pads. There price point is close but the keyboard (only real advantage) is $100 more. Plus you have few Apps for retail consumers and even less for business and the interface is slow compared to the others. Only a fool would think this combination will produce a winning pad. As for the Surface pro, that is DOA. It is the same combination MS has been selling (very unsuccessfully) for years. MS cannot compete head to head with iPad or Android at this time, they need a differentiator to have a chance.
While I don't disagree that floor space will help sales
Microsoft has done pretty good jobs
They had great idea -- to create an entirely new Windows runtime, WinRT, modern, clean...
Then it turned out, that even Microsoft's own programmers can't write Microsoft's own software (MS Office) in WinRT alone. They had to hastily bolt win32 back "for their private use".
So no, Microsoft has done pretty lousy job in engineering the software architecture of their future - WinRT. Perhaps, in a typical Microsoft style, we will see an service pack to WinRT, that will turn it into something else... Who knows.
Unfortunately, they were rushing an incomplete product to market. With so much promises.
Very ignorant.
Office?
I don't think there's room for 3 major players, so goodbye, Microsoft, Symbian, Blackberry, you were the weakest links. The public voted you off with our feet.
Office, .NET, WinRT, and C++
No, it doesn't
Unfortunately for them, that is so bloated it won't run.
Office on RT
Not comparable
The Surface Pro might resolve the problem of processing power, using, as it does, a conventional Intel CPU. And it will run most extant Windows software, so that issue won't even arise for the Pro. But it will still have problems with the interface. And even though it will run like a real PC, the limited storage compared to real PCs may discourage demand. In the meantime, Microsoft's OEMs are rushing Windows 8 PCs to market and may beat Microsoft at its own game. That surprised me because I thought they would sit back and let Microsoft take all the risks of developing a market for this version of the tablet PC. But some of them at least are braver and more ambitious than I expected. And, now that I think of it, they are piggybacking on all the Windows 8 PR Microsoft is paying for. Which may work for them.
That said, it's too soon to be writing obituaries for the Surface. A rocky start does not necessarily mean disaster. Things could get better. I don't think the RT will succeed, but that's just a guess, not a forecast. And the Surface Pro, when it finally makes it out of the gate, may do all right - though it will have missed the critical holiday buying season. So whatever start it gets is likely to be a slow one. But a slow start doesn't mean failure, either. In truth, we won't know for at least a year whether either the RT or the Pro has become any kind of success - or failure. In the meantime, all this noise about the Surface is just link bate.
It isn't a question of ability
So the way it sounds there is very little leadership or direction and just chaos in the departments of Microsoft. It is like throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.